Santé publique et traumatismes crâniens graves. Aspects épidémiologiques et financiers, structures et filières de soins

The management of persons with traumatic brain injury affects a large spectrum of interventions from acute phase to the hospital discharge and the return to community. The incidence of brain injuries on mortality and morbidity constitutes a serious problem in front of the Health Administration. The traffic accidents remain the main cause but the falls in elderly are increasing. In the both cases preventive measures can be efficiency. In France, each year, there are about 150,000 new cases, 8000 of them will be dead and 4000 with coma. It is likely that 30,000 persons are living to day with important sequela of a brain injury. The management requires various types of interventions, each of them with specific and specialized techniques. It is necessary to have an overview of the problem and to work together in a comprehensive network. So French Health Ministery has just published an official note to precise some directives and co-ordination of the different interventions.